Did I Goof or Junk V-Block Part

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angelfj1

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Last week was the first time I had a chance to use my new V-Block Set, a gift from my wife. I w as attempting to hold a length of 1-inch alum. round stock prior to milling a flat. The V-Blocks in this set, include a U-Shaped "yolk" that is used to hold the stock in place. After placing the alum. in the "V" I threaded the holder finger tight in the block. Then I positioned the block on the table u sing the X-Y adjusters and indicated the center line of my stock. I used a short piece of drill rod (there is a hole in the knurled thumb nut portion of the screw) to snug up the threaded holding screw on the yolk and the yolk promptly broke in half. I want to emphasize that the snugging was just a bit more than finger tight - any less and my material would surely have moved as soon as the end mill touched it. See photos below. If you look closely, the material is surely die cast mystery metal with a narrow cross section. It broke exactly at the weakest point . Did I do something wrong or is this a poor design? I called Fowler and they are "looking into it". I'm asking because I'm an amateur at shop techniques but my engineering background tells me that there should have been a more generous cross section at the drilled hole or stronger material.

Your comments are welcome.
Best regards, Frank
V Block-1.jpg V Block-2.jpg V Block-3.jpg
 
Welcome, if you look at the hold down screw and it’s surface area. It’s not meant for any real securing force like a milling operation. And I could be wrong? But I think Fowler is Import brand? When you buy Import it’s a crap shoot on quality..Dave
 
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chips&more said:
Welcome, if you look at the hold down screw and it’s surface area. It’s not meant for any real securing force like a milling operation. And I could be wrong? But I thing Fowler is Import brand? When you buy Import it’s a crap shoot on quality..Dave
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Dave, Thanks for the reply. I agree about the variable quality of imported products, but if the screw isn't intended to "hold-down" your stock, what's it's purpose? There were no instructions supplied.

Do you own a V-Block set? How do you hold stock in the "V" ?
 
Yes, the yoke and screw are made to hold things down or in keep place. But, it’s not built like a Mac truck kinda thing. Everything has their limits! Boy, if I showed you all the end mill cutters that I exceeded limits on:eek:! I’m always testing the limits on cutters for some reason :D?
 
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Fowler used to be top shelf stuff, but I suppose like many others, they could have succumbed to the price wars just to survive. Those clamps, as far as I know, are more for holding things while inspecting. Like if you needed to accurately get measurements from 2 axes, you can clamp a part, measure, then flip it on its side and measure again, assured of a pretty precise 90° rotation.

If I was going to machine something (and I have) in vee blocks, I would use a regular hold-down clamp and the tee slots on the table. Might or might not use the clamp that comes with the block or not, just to help get set up. But not to machine.
 
Yeah, I just broke an end mill last weekend.

The way I see it on this v-block clamp is, it is only meant hold parts for verification (measuring). If I need to use the v-block as a clamp for machining, I always use a proper hold down clamp.
 
RandyM said:
Yeah, I just broke an end mill last weekend.

The way I see it on this v-block clamp is, it is only meant hold parts for verification (measuring). If I need to use the v-block as a clamp for machining, I always use a proper hold down clamp.
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"I always use a proper hold down clamp". Well. as I said, I'm a novice. So, what would be the preferred way to hold, let's say a piece of 0.75" round alum. horizontally on a mill table, for milling a flat or drilling a through-hole. A photo would be nice.

Regards,

Frank
 
angelfj1 said:
"I always use a proper hold down clamp". Well. as I said, I'm a novice. So, what would be the preferred way to hold, let's say a piece of 0.75" round alum. horizontally on a mill table, for milling a flat or drilling a through-hole. A photo would be nice.

Regards,

Frank
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Try something like this, Frank:
 
There are two types of V blocks. I believe the ones you would need are the ones with socket head screws that hold a flat support across the top with inverted v on them:encourage:. I cant seem to get a photo of them to post:blue:
 
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